TR Replies
Thanks Ron, That was the picture I knew you had for the cover!
Yeah, Jer, I hate to rub it in, but you did miss a good one.
Youda loved chasing Joe down this line:
The weather was stellar and the snow conditions were smooth as a gigolo's favorite pickup line.
And speaking of smooth, I though we'd get some entertainment when Joe started "skinnin...
Youda loved chasing Joe down this line:
The weather was stellar and the snow conditions were smooth as a gigolo's favorite pickup line.
And speaking of smooth, I though we'd get some entertainment when Joe started "skinnin...
Nice report, Pete.
Sounds like about the some conditions we ran into.
Sounds like about the some conditions we ran into.
Nice report, Wolfs.
I may have an old Fritschi I (or maybe it's a II) in my junk pile somewhere. Let me know if you want to try it and I'll see if I can find it. I suspect the screw pattern will be the same but the levers probably have some differences.
I may have an old Fritschi I (or maybe it's a II) in my junk pile somewhere. Let me know if you want to try it and I'll see if I can find it. I suspect the screw pattern will be the same but the levers probably have some differences.
NF Gullies each had a big runnel and two cliffs. Didn't look like there was "much point" to skiing them - they aren't particularly prominent features, really just (currently) undesirable parts of the face they live on (which still looked good and smooth on the looker's left), which shares the upper few hundred feet with Cooper Spur. Don't think the upper part of the face will last too much longer with these warm temps though. It was a lot more melted out than in Jeff H's ph...
Cooper Spur is funny that way. All the 'business' comes in the top several hundred feet, after a little traverse that puts you over some huge exposure. And Mt Hood sure does throw a lot of rocks.
How did the NF Gullies and the Sunshine Route look Phil?
How did the NF Gullies and the Sunshine Route look Phil?
In spring and summer, the north face of Maude catches sun very early and is subject to rockfall after things warm up. I climbed it many years ago from a camp at Ice Lakes and remember being nervous about rockfall on the climb. For this reason, if you're going to ski it, you should either get a very early start, or climb up a different route and ski down it quickly. The north face is not all that steep, except right near the top, so it seems like one of those descents where blind skiing can be a...
Wolfs, Kudos to you for the report and slugging it out up the Russell. It gets easier every time you do it!
Huh? What are slides? 8) Just kidding Jes, keep on shootin....Jerry
Sounds fun , looks like I missed a good one! 8)
pete--thanks for the report! sounds like you and becky had a good time, and were able to avoid the majority of the crowds on your descent. about how high did you have to climb before you hit snow on your way up to muir (above pebble creek, or higher?) did you guys ski much below cowlitz after you crossed the scree?
Phil-
You raise a good point. Avalanche danger changes everything. So do objective hazards like seracs. A hanging serac is the top reason I have read for all the blind drops into Gervasutti. But people still climb the thing too, I think.
There are other alternatives. Particularly for Thermo, I would just climb Liberty Ridge and give it a look. Like Paul said climbing something is no panacea, but you see and observe a lot.
I d...
You raise a good point. Avalanche danger changes everything. So do objective hazards like seracs. A hanging serac is the top reason I have read for all the blind drops into Gervasutti. But people still climb the thing too, I think.
There are other alternatives. Particularly for Thermo, I would just climb Liberty Ridge and give it a look. Like Paul said climbing something is no panacea, but you see and observe a lot.
I d...
Sky ponders the foolishness on Mt. Maude's North Face (video frame capture)
Further details of the trip:
Who: Sky, Jason, Josh, Paul, Bill and Sam
6:30am - leave the trailhead for Leroy basin.
Climb the south route via endless scree to the summit of Maude, arriving at 12:30. Discover millions (seriously, I'm talking millions) of Ladybugs on the summit. The Ladybugs, forced our retreat and we h...
Call Black Diamond, they'll hook you up for a small fee. I believe you can get the lever for around $33.
Skiing something generally covers a lot more area than climbing it does. You could climb the runnel and find icy nastiness, then ski it and find good corn everwhere else. Or vice versa, climb good snow, then traverse out while skiing, and find miserable snow, fall off, and die.
While it's probably a good idea to climb what you ski, it's certainly no panacea.
Rocks can always be an issue, too, I found a few yesterday.
While it's probably a good idea to climb what you ski, it's certainly no panacea.
Rocks can always be an issue, too, I found a few yesterday.
Nice job guys... wish I could have been there.
To continue ski-mountaineering discussion... what's your opinion on "climb-what-you-ski", pertaining to very objectively hazardous routes?
I guess there aren't too many examples of this, but suppose you were insane, and decided to ski Thermogenesis ;). Knowing that it would take you 6 hours to climb, and only 1 hour to descend, and that you were going to be "under the gun", subject to random ice avalanches a...
To continue ski-mountaineering discussion... what's your opinion on "climb-what-you-ski", pertaining to very objectively hazardous routes?
I guess there aren't too many examples of this, but suppose you were insane, and decided to ski Thermogenesis ;). Knowing that it would take you 6 hours to climb, and only 1 hour to descend, and that you were going to be "under the gun", subject to random ice avalanches a...
Well thanks for the kind words Robie.
I really had a great time with all y'all. Everything was fantastic-Skiing, hiking, flowers, waterfalls, company. I enjoyed the Ron J stories and tales of skiing past, Robie's helpfull insights, Dorthea's energy and motivation. All to come back a warm welcoming party at the car. Perfect day-except for the skins being left at home ???.
I'm grateful that our paths crossed at the trailhead.
No pictures to post since the camera was next to the skin...
I really had a great time with all y'all. Everything was fantastic-Skiing, hiking, flowers, waterfalls, company. I enjoyed the Ron J stories and tales of skiing past, Robie's helpfull insights, Dorthea's energy and motivation. All to come back a warm welcoming party at the car. Perfect day-except for the skins being left at home ???.
I'm grateful that our paths crossed at the trailhead.
No pictures to post since the camera was next to the skin...
Driving on 23 on Thursday I watched as omnious clouds took over the north side I of Adams thinking that it maybe storming and socked in. However as I rounded the mountain's west side it appeared that the south side was just obscured by the clouds coat tail and actually sunny. Glad to hear that someone enjoyed those freshies. In July might I add!
Oh my gawd, what an amazing past three days!! I'm super glad we were able to hook up with you, Chris and Amar. What a great group! My head is dizzy from all the fun. The skiing yesterday was equally as excellent as Sunday. I plan to post a report with links to tons of photos probably tonight or tommorow, in the meantime here are some of you, Silas:
Still waiting for the Cass-a-mark pictures . . .
They'll come Greg. That roll of slides is finished and will be developed this week. Stay tuned.
Nice job! I wanted to be there but ended up being convinced to go elsewhere. I'm glad someone enjoyed the north side on the beautiful 4th of july weekend. Gawd knows you got the max payoff to effort ratio 8)
Still waiting for the Cass-a-mark pictures . . .
Great photos of the skiing and flowers, Robie, looks like you guys had a pretty fun day ;D. Thanks for sharing.
nice work, Wipe! It's good to know you took advantage of the weather...
-s
-s
Looks like a great trip!!!!!!!!!!! Way to set the pass ticket record. Can you send me the gps routes of your trip if you have some free time.
Keep'em Turning.
MJ ///oregon.
Keep'em Turning.
MJ ///oregon.
Thanks Nice report! The combination of wildflowers and creamy snow is good right now.
Just saw the movie and noted it was quite an awesome trip, and my hats are off to you. My thoughts are not presented on this trip specifically, but in general.
If being careful and redundant in your safety skills is dumb, then so be it. Live long and prosper
If being careful and redundant in your safety skills is dumb, then so be it. Live long and prosper
Warren Miller & earning your turns is for the most part, an oxymoron. Clearly you don't know the skills, or the conditioning of the individuals you claim are chestbeating to be calling them out like this. I think that they could certainly gain more attention if they wanted too (but it's not their focus); however, you wouldn't know that.
And, I wouldn't call this an ego trip, but rather an epic one!
And, I wouldn't call this an ego trip, but rather an epic one!
I think some people here don't give a shit about the risk factor and would rather spray on the board about what they did do and how crazy they are and warrenmilleresque (aka "Look at me Dad")
There is no way that they will ever catch an edge, hit some blue ice and lose it, or whatever danger lies that is uncontrollable. I think sometimes you should leave you damn ego at the car and just ski for fun, not too say "you did it and barely scraped by".
Just my .02 bu...
There is no way that they will ever catch an edge, hit some blue ice and lose it, or whatever danger lies that is uncontrollable. I think sometimes you should leave you damn ego at the car and just ski for fun, not too say "you did it and barely scraped by".
Just my .02 bu...
I wrote an essay nearly comparable to Sky's in length, if not in quality. You can find it here.
(It's an essay, not a trip report, because the word to photo ratio is far too high. ;) )
(It's an essay, not a trip report, because the word to photo ratio is far too high. ;) )
Well done marcr! I end up going solo sometimes. I always see if any pals can go, but if they can't, I ain't sitting on the couch all day! Muir is a good place for this. Many of us have the route memorized, and I avoid avalanche or crevasse areas too this way. But, yep, I've been at work all week seeing blue sky, and it's gonna sock-in Sat./Sun. I'm going to give it a go on Mon. either way. I hope it's clear and can do Nisqually Chute. Carefully going from one Juan ;) to the next in a...
I'm joining the dialogue a little late, so I'll be brief. 1)Sky, in my opinion your report is one of the better ones you've written. I especially liked how you included a bit of the history of the region. Very cool. 2) To the four of you- Sky, Dave, Phil and Paul- your trip is reminiscent of the great first ascents in the French Alps (minus the huts!). Also very cool. And 3) to all of you who have contributed to the discussion on roped skiing, the quality of thought within your comments reinforc...
Looks like a good time. Kills me to see all of that snow without a snowboarder around to sweep lines over it.
another great video, looks like a hell of a trip. i'm envious that y'all can take off so many weekdays to pursue these fantastic trips when the weather is at its prime.
Maybe one of these days the weather will be nice on a weekend, or I'll just have to get 'sick' for several days in a row.
Maybe one of these days the weather will be nice on a weekend, or I'll just have to get 'sick' for several days in a row.
There's something to be said for being out of your comfort zone, but I think one of the reasons I enjoyed this ski so much, is that I was within it (or near the edge?) (wouldn't have been the case if I skied from the true summit ;))
All right, all right. Just in case people think I have some crazy fetish, what I meant to imply was that there was some 'tish talking' without using a four-letter word.
I can't wait to get on a Fenêtres machine and see the video, Phil.
Je regardais mes mots vieux. Mon dieu! Il est possible que je sois menteur. Peut-être je change comme le vent.
Je doute que l'interprétation et le context importent...
Ropes are evil. &nb...
I can't wait to get on a Fenêtres machine and see the video, Phil.
Je regardais mes mots vieux. Mon dieu! Il est possible que je sois menteur. Peut-être je change comme le vent.
Je doute que l'interprétation et le context importent...
Ropes are evil. &nb...
So I'll clarify even further, and then I'll leave this alone.
Thanks for your further clarification, Sky. This discussion has been helpful to shine light on two schools of thought regarding steep skiing. Both schools agree that in moderate conditions the most aesthetic descent is one completed continuously on skis with no technical impedimenta. But at higher levels of difficulty, these schools diverge.
One school accepts a degree of hi...
You protect climbs with a rope. Nothing is taken away from an ascent because you didn't solo it. Roped climbing is the norm. So it doesn't seem too much different to do the same for ski descents. It's just protection in the event of a fall, so that fall doesn't have critical consequences.
Maybe someday this will become the norm for more of the 'extreme' ski descents.
I'm not for or against belayed skiing. It is still skiing afterall and you can link tu...
Classic trip, all time classic vidi. Congrats, guys -- you finally got one of these suckers on film!
Phil, if you want to make a 1 mbps version available for download, I can host it.
Phil, if you want to make a 1 mbps version available for download, I can host it.
Regarding that shot of Kam. Does that right ski look broken?It sure does... or at least heavily flexed. It kinda looks like the skipper's Mira's; and he likes skiin' that kind of stuff, might be him in the pic.
Joe
I made a
little video
Ok, it's not little, it's over 11 minutes, and over 20MB. And it has foul language and vulgar song lyrics. So don't download it. But if you do, and you're gonna watch it more than once, right-click -> save target as...
little video
Ok, it's not little, it's over 11 minutes, and over 20MB. And it has foul language and vulgar song lyrics. So don't download it. But if you do, and you're gonna watch it more than once, right-click -> save target as...
Heck, I never use 'em. Takes all the dang feeling away!" ;D
(joking!!)
(joking!!)
What really puzzled me is, what was the precursory eating a precursor to? Perhaps I'm not being literary enough, and I should imagine crumbles of dung bouncing off Sky's chest at this point in the report?
At any rate, congrats on a cool ski and thanks for the entertaining conversation on style. I always figure what feels good and right for me is, well, right for me, and may or may not be someone else's cup of tea. Or dung...
At any rate, congrats on a cool ski and thanks for the entertaining conversation on style. I always figure what feels good and right for me is, well, right for me, and may or may not be someone else's cup of tea. Or dung...
RJ-Looks like you have the hang of the new camera. Those shots looked super! I took a hike today around Chinook Pass today and you folks hit the only stretch of snow that is so close the the road.
Reguarding that shot of Kam. Does that right ski look broken?
Joe
Reguarding that shot of Kam. Does that right ski look broken?
Joe
I think the main issue people like Sky have with roped skiing isnt that it takes the risk away, it's that it takes away from the actual movement of skiing. Climbing is, more or less, a bunch of linked static puzzles. Having a rope there doesnt really interfere much beyond having to stop for belays and to place pro, but you stop anyway so its no big deal. Skiing, on the otherhand, is comparitvely fast and dynamic, so stopping to deal with a rope alters it to something different. I think if there...
Ross - That was called a hop-turn-flip. It was only for 1 turn, so that was a good thing. ;) Besides, I figured it was better than sidestepping like one of us chose to do for that distance. 8)